Rough-Legged Day at the Refuge

There were a bunch of rough-legged hawks at the refuge today, at least 5 that I saw. Beautiful birds. Of course there were Harriers and Red-tails and GBH's also.  Here's a few photos from today.

Red-tailed waited just inside the gates.

Rough-leggeds...

Northern Harrier headed somewhere else!

Backyard Beauty

So nice to have some sunshine despite the smog that is settling in place over the valley. A couple of backyard beauties paid us a visit!

Hey Humans!  Anyone at home!

Yellow-rumped Warbler - a bit early.

Oregon

Picture from an Oregon trip taken a while back - I love the ocean!

Refuge photos

All the beauty at the refuge isn't in the wildlife there - Mother Nature provides a wealth of material for us to enjoy.  Here's a couple.

Thinking of Ireland

We've had several enjoyable trips to Ireland and are thinking maybe of another. Here's some photos that I like.

Careful when driving through small towns!

The sign's complexity demands you take your time to read if you don't know your way.

Rock of Cashel - a beautiful place to visit.

Good Morning!

Grey skies

Leave me wishing for the songs of spring, especially the Meadowlarks!!

Sunshine

After a foot or so of snow this morning the sun came out and warmed our hearts anyway! Here's a couple to warm your hearts in this cool wintertime.

A couple more Herons

Here's some of our southern neighbors, the Little Blue Heron and the Tri-colored Heron. Compliments of Ding Darling Wildlife refuge on Sanibel Island.

Heron Fight

Sitting around yesterday watching the GBH's I was fortunate to be present when one of them started a fight with another. Their posturing, use of their wings and body language is fascinating! Take time to look closely at this sequence!

The one on the left was the instigator!

Refuge today!

Another phenomenal day at the refuge - Harriers flying everywhere - Kestrels chasing them at times - Goofy GBH's on the ice sitting still when they aren't fighting - Black-crowned Night Heron again! Over and over - and then the Bald Eagles flew in circles over us.
Hard to leave when all this is happening!

ing!

Refuge with Kurt

Kurt and I spent a few hours at the refuge today, he drove and that was great for me so I could just pay attention to the outside!
Harriers, immature Bald Eagles, GBH's, Kestrels, Pied-bill Grebes were plentiful - and an immature Black-crowned Night Heron was the icing on the cake!

Grumpy old men are back on the ice.

Immature Black-crowned Night Heron - a new one to me.

Pied Bill Grebe - cutest little guys around!

Barn owl at the refuge.

The barn owls are fascinating creatures - often hunting during the daylight hours. They can hear their prey beneath the snow - then the dive into the snow and re-appear with their catch. Very cool!

Backyard visitor

A fairly common visitor, running along the fence or on the high wire, the squirrel is fun to watch and very ingenious. So far no attacks on the bird feeders but time will tell!

Thinking of the wilds!

A friend captured and released raptors from the SLC airport. He called and said - "want to shoot some Barn Owls in flight?" Of course!

A stay in day!

Icy rain this morning so just sitting still and enjoying the quiet! Looking through photos again and found these three that I really like - shapes, forms, and no color to distract you.